87 YEARS AGO
Brian Baker was led into the hotel by three police officers. News cameras flashed around him, questions shouted at him in every direction. Brian tried to ignore it all, gritting his teeth as he walked past them all at a brisk pace to get inside the building. With the press held captive outside by the police, Brian pushed through the revolving doors, greeted inside by the hotel manager. Brian was then led into a large conference room where the board members of Bakersfield Industries were to meet. Brian looked around the table until he spotted his assistant, then moved to sit beside him.
“Give me a status report,” Brian said sharply. Ian Meade winced.
“Do you want to wait until the board is here?” Ian asked, trying to keep his voice calm. Brian shook his head.
“No, I need to know what’s going on now,” Brian demanded, the anger and stress from the past twenty-four hours saturating his voice. Ian nodded and looked down at the conference table, shuffling through some folders lying in front of him.
“The damage was mostly contained to the Island,” Ian said, glancing around the table to make sure they weren’t heard.
“Well that’s good then, isn’t it? Nobody cares about the Island.” Brian said, sounding hopeful.
“The residents of the Island certainly do.” Ian sighed. “You’re looking at hundreds of lawsuits if they sue you for property damage.” Brian closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath.
“The houses in the Island are small and insignificant anyways,” Brian argued. “It couldn’t be that expensive for me to buy all the residents a new trailer home.” Ian frowned. He was used to his boss's dislike for the area of town nicknamed the Island -despite the city of Apple Creek being inland. This area of town housed the majority of the poorer people in the city and held the industrial areas and factories. A wealthy man like Brian Baker was sure to have his own prejudices against the Island. But things were different now. The damage was too great to take lightly.
“Mr. Baker, while the Island was hit the most, the entire city has been evacuated,” Ian spoke carefully, enunciating each word. “If the radiation has affected all of Apple Creek we’re looking at a lot more than property damage.” Brian scowled.
“How soon till we know the latest report?” Brian asked. Ian nodded to a man sitting across from them. The man was too preoccupied with the police to notice their focus had turned on him.
“That’s Anthony Hawks, he’s a nuclear biologist. He has a team scanning the city. We should get the latest numbers by the time the board meeting starts.” Ian said.
Brian and Ian fell silent and watched as the rest of the Bakersfield Industries Board began to fill the room. When Robert Fields entered the room he glared towards Brian. Robert and Brian were the owners of Bakersfield Industries, and Robert was furious with his business partner over this whole mess. It took twenty minutes before everyone arrived, the doors closed, and the meeting began. Robert stood at the head of the table.
“Thank you, everyone, for meeting here on such short notice,” Robert spoke, his voice booming through the room. “As you know, at eleven o’clock yesterday morning one of our factories in the Island exploded. Apparently,” Robert’s eyes narrowed towards Brian. “Apparently this particular factory was working with radioactive substances which have been released into the air as a result of the explosion. Everyone in Apple Creek was immediately evacuated. We are here to discuss what happens now.”
“How much radiation released into the air?” Elias Morales, a board member, spoke up. Anthony cleared his throat.
“I have a team that has been scouting the city and I should be getting a report back in the next ten minutes,” Anthony said. Elias nodded, satisfied with the answer.
“How much radiation was contained in that factory?” Mark Trappers barked staring down Brian. Brian kept his eyes on the table top as the rest of the room turned towards him.
“More importantly, why was Bakersfield experimenting with radiation when it was never discussed by the board?” Robert spoke up, anger shaking his voice. Brian kept quiet. He refused to let the board boss him around. It was his company, after all. There was a knock at the door and a hotel employee poked their head in.
“Mr. Hawks you have a call on line two.” He said. Everyone turned to Anthony as he reached towards the phone in the center of the table. He pressed the necessary buttons and moved the phone to his ear. The room fell silent, anxiously leaning towards him.
“This is Anthony,” He spoke into the receiver. There was a slight pause, Anthony’s face turning into a frown. “I don’t understand,” Anthony said slowly. Glances were shared across the room, trying to decipher Anthony’s end of the conversation. “Yes, but how is that possible?” There was another paused. Brian could feel his palms beginning to sweat. It had been his decision to experiment. If Apple Creek was now a wasteland it would be entirely his fault.
“We’ll be there shortly,” Anthony said before hanging up the phone. His frown deepened and he stared at the table, looking confused. “We are to meet at the laboratories in Fosterton. My men found something they want us to see.” Anthony slid his chair back and stood.
“Do they have a report on the radiation?” Robert asked. “How’s the city?” Anthony looked towards Robert, his forehead wrinkled with his frown.
“They are detecting no radiation in the city,” Anthony stated, eyeing the members of the table. The room was silent. Brian felt as if his heart had stopped.
“What do you mean?” Brian broke the silence.
“There is no radiation in all of Apple Creek,” Anthony repeated, still frowning. “They scanned the whole city and found nothing.”
“But yesterday it was being detected!” Mark shouted, moving to his feet abruptly, knocking his chair to the floor. Anthony nodded.
“Yes,” He spoke with hesitation. “Yesterday there was an explosion that released radiation across Apple Creek. Somehow, today, all that radiation appears to be gone.”
“That’s impossible!” Elias spoke, his voice quivering. Anthony nodded.
“It is. That’s why we need to get to the laboratories to see what they’ve found.”
